The Story of Kicalia and Samayou
by Bruce
Summary: An effort to provide a history for two characters on an StH themed MUCK. Rare appearances by featured characters. Hope you Enjoy.Rated high for two swears, one a 'big' one.


Note from the Authors: This story is based on the world described in the Sega game, and ABC cartoon from many years ago, Sonic

Note from the Authors: This story is based on the world described in the Sega game, and ABC cartoon from many years ago, Sonic the Hedgehog. The characters, with the exception of Robotnik, were created by teaser_chick@hotmail.com), and me, (mshearon@hotmail.com). We wrote this story for pure enjoyment. This story was also written to provide a history for two characters we had created some time ago. It was an idea we kicked around, and then decided to try. And we're glad with the results. We hope you, the reader, enjoy it as well.

And Now: The Story of Samayou and Kicalia

Samayou's life seemed to be going as good as a life could go. He was the star Pupil of Wataru, master of the martial arts taught on his Island. His parents and the parents of Tsukino, his childhood sweetheart, had arranged a marriage. It was due to take place the day after tomorrow. He smiled as he walked beside her, "So, Tsukino... Did you really expect us to get engaged like this?"

"No… not really," she said. She smiled at him, and said, "But my fears weren't true. Our parents DID arrange for us to be married." She and Samayou had been close since childhood, on the island known only as Tora-no-heya, or home of the Tiger. They parted company with some sweet words, and a kiss, and went to their respective huts.

Samayou had gone out into the woods early that morning, to get her some flowers. He had always been something of a romantic. That's when he heard the thunder… Thunder so loud, it shook the earth. Something wasn't right… the skies were clear, the air fresh… Wait… something was burning… wood… straw… Flesh. Dear God… what's happening back at the village?! He thought, as he ran back, at his top speed. Ignoring the stinging of branches on his face, he ducked under and around trees and bushes.

When he arrived at the village again, he froze in terror. Beings the likes of which he couldn't imagine, tearing through buildings as if they were nothing more than parchment. They carried away young and old, all who couldn't fight.. all that did, were struck by strange bolts of light from the things' wrists, and incinerated. He watched as his master felled creature after creature with his weapon, and skilled attacks, before they started shooting him from afar. He watched in horror as Tsukino was destroyed by the creatures invading his home…

All he did… was watch.

After he was sure the strange things had left, he managed to make his legs move him down into the remains of his home… his village. Everything was gone. EveryONE was gone. He cradled Tsukino's head in his hands, quivering with rage, pain, Anger, Sorrow, and more than any of the others… Shame.

"SAMAYOU NO BAKA!" he screamed to the air, pounding his fists against the stone of the earth, as the tears matted his fur. "You Coward… you did nothing… you let her die!" he berated himself. He was the only one left. He buried all he could, once his mind had calmed down, a bit. He then went through the Dojo where he had trained for many years. Since he could walk, he had admired the Tiger's Claw, the fist Dagger of his people. Its strength was legendary among his people… they said it could cut anything. They said it couldn't be destroyed. They said it could turn back any blade. Perhaps some of the legends were true, because there it was, four prongs glistening amidst the embers. He lifted it, not caring how the handle burned his hand. The curve of the blade fit perfectly around his hand. The weapon felt like it had been made for him, and him alone.

"This blade… will reap vengeance for the blood of my people. This… I swear!" his voice became a roar, to the night, as he tore out through the path blazed by the creatures. Bodies of steel, arms that spat fire… He didn't care if he died… he was taking those things with him at all costs. His training kept his breathing tight, and controlled as his body nearly flashed through the trail, moving faster than he ever had before. he came to a stop, barely winded, and watched the creatures herding furs of all shapes and sizes into the gigantic boats. He was too late to get any out of their reach, but he wasn't too late to have about 4 or 5 dispatched to come and intercept him, hearing. "SWAT units 5-10, intercept that one, and kill him. Strong as he looks, he's too much of a fighter."

Samayou set his jaw, and charged them, blood boiling with rage as his blade bit through them one after the other, as the ships pulled off the shore. Running, and dodging the blasts, Samayou leapt onto the side of the boat, desperately trying to maintain his hold. The smooth metal eluded his grasp, almost dumping him into the ocean. Samayou was smart, however, and dug his blade into the hull, using its shape and sharpness to act as a handhold where there was none. If he couldn't stop them now, he'd stop them at their base… wherever that was.

****Sometime later****

The Transport moved from sea to land as effortlessly as a turtle, but considerably faster. The flames under it kept it aloft, and carried it to its destination. At the speed it was traveling, Samayou was having quite a bit of difficulty keeping his hold. His sheer force of will kept his fingers around the handle. Finally, after an eternity, the transport came to a stop.

As the group was marched off the transport, surrounded by SWATs, Kicalia looked around her. She was far from happy about being stolen from her home and brought here to be roboticized, but she was resigned... even if she DID get the others to join forces with her, there's NO way that they'd make it out... she for one had NEVER been this far from home. She wiped her eyes and looked about. Did she hear something?

Samayou watched the group disappear into the building, jerking his blade out of the hull of the unit. He was certain that the tall female in the group had seen him, but it didn't matter cause she hadn't said anything. {Now to find a way in…} he thought, as he looked around. He watched as the… SWATs… yes, that's what they were called… went into the immense building before him.He waited for quite a while to make certain that the SWATs were all inside, then he went about his business. He moved quickly, and quietly to the side of the building. That's where he spotted his way inside…A grate. 'That? All TOO easy.' He pried off the grate and crawled into the vent, giving his tail a final flick as it disappeared into the darkness.

Kicalia froze as she and the rest of the group were herded down the hall. She looked around, certain she heard something. A SWAT poked her in her back and she growled at it softly, but went on thinking, 'Maybe whoever's following us will try to save us... maybe'

Kic watched with dry eyes as the next of the group was placed on the machine and his flesh was turned to metal. He was the farthest one up that she had been able to see. She had counted on the transport… 20, she thought… She sighed and stepped forwards as she watched a particularly wistful, talkative, young girl transform also. Fifteen down, five to go, including herself. She watched a particularly handsome male get transformed, all this dry eyed, though she knew somewhere in her mind that she'd have nightmares for weeks afterwards. Then a pretty femme fox. She'd have gone far if this hadn't happened.

At this particular moment, Sam decided that he had seen enough. He forcibly kicked the grating in the ceiling open and dropped into the midst of about 8 SWATs, taking down three of their number with wide swipes of his blade. Finally the other SWATs notice him and open fire. Kicalia looked over but stepped up to be the next in line to be roboticized; her thoughts are consumed with questions such as, Will it hurt or will I feel anything. What will it feel like to be dead?

She was vaguely aware that four of the SWATS were taken down by misfires from the last two who were guarding the machine. As one of the remaining SWATs led her up to the platform, she spat into it's video lens and took her position on the platform, chin held high and arms at her sides... if anyone watching was expecting fear, they won't see it. She closed her eyes as she heard the sounds of the roboticizer powering up over the sounds of the battle.

Suddenly she was tackled off the platform as the ray shot. She heard a curse over her own frightened whimpering and repeating of "Oh My god, oh my god, oh my god...."

Kicalia finally opened her eyes to look at her rescuer. What she saw was a huge (and rather cute) bengal tiger leaning over her. She blinked a few times, surprised, and looks over his body, her eyes widening marginally as she realizes that the ray had gotten most of both his legs and his tail.

"My god!... are you okay?"

The tiger nodded and tried to roll off her, finding that he was having a few problems moving his legs. No matter. He looked over this unusual girl he'd just saved and perked his ears back at the noise from the hall... More SWATs were on the way. Best to leave... and fast.

Again, he tried to move his legs, this time, the clang on the floor alerted him that something was very wrong. He looked down at his legs, and saw their new status. A short, "shimata…" escaped his lips as he felt them, but then shook his head. Time for self pity later. Now it was time to make sure there WAS a later. He looked to the girl he had saved, and murmured, "Please...Help me up.... We don't have much time..."

Kicalia knelt next to him and pulled with all her might, assisting him to a standing position. She encouraged him to put an arm about her shoulders so she could help him to the grate he came out of. They climbed in, him leading the way and crawled back the way he came in, barely missing the troop of bots that finally responded to the commotion.

In the ductwork, Kicalia was aware of only two things, the closeness of her rescuer and the amount of noise they were making. Since all she was doing was following the tiger, she let her mind wander to those mysterious amber-colored eyes. She felt she could melt in them... oof! She blushed beet-red as she realized that the tiger had stopped and she had run right into him.

Samayou looked back at her, annoyed slightly that she was not paying attention, but considering that he'd come literally out of nowhere on her it was forgivable. Besides, he'd noticed her blushing.

Kicalia saw the glance back and she silently made a 'sorry' motion with her hands. He pointed ahead to warn her of something that he'd apparently just taken care of. She nodded and followed him on down the vent, gasping as he scooched around a fallen spy-eye. She carefully edged her way around it, cringing against the walls of the duct as it sparked a little. Together they crawled on through the ducts towards whatever fate awaited them.

Samayou retraced his steps successfully and brought Kicalia out where he'd entered the complex. He slid out of the vent and assisted Kicalia to a standing position, helping her brush off most of the dust that had accumulated in there. She looked up as she was brushing her arm off and froze immediately, letting out a soft moan of terror. Sam stiffened and looked over his shoulder at the five SWATs that were standing across the clearing, guns drawn and trained on them. He sighs and puts his hands up, whispering to Kicalia, "As soon as they get close enough... we won't be beaten quite so easily..."

Ki watched him curiously, bowing her head slightly in defeat. She KNEW he said something, just not quite what he said... probably "sorry, I tried..." She also knew that she wasn't going down without a fight this time. She dived to one side as the SWATs began to come across the clearing after their prisoners. She crouched there in the bushes as two of the five came to find her. She yelled to the tiger, "Come on! Don't give up yet!!! It's not over!" She jumped up and tackled a SWAT at chest-level, knocking it down. It fired at her, but the aim was way off... she stood on its chest and proudly used her hiking boot to smash in its video lens. She then looked up at the other one that was still combing the brush for her, thinking, 'How dumb are these things?'

She picked up a fallen branch and rolled off the SWAT she'd just fallen, coming close to the second and using her feet to push it's knees out from under it so she could ram the stick into it's lens also. She then turned to the tiger, who was watching her curiously, his bots all taken care of. "Finished yet?"

Kic raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged, saying coolly, "I guess I did rather well for one who has never had much formal training."

Sam watched as Kicalia walked slowly over to him. He had no clue what she was planning and was ever so surprised to wind up with her arms about him in a fierce hug, her face buried against his shoulder. He gently picked her up and carried her off towards the woods, not looking back.

Pretty soon, they were in the woods a ways and Ki was calm enough for Sam to set her back on her feet again. She kept her arms around his neck for a few moments longer, making certain that she was not going to cry in front of him. She was just so relieved... she'd had no clue how scared she was until it was all over. She raised her head for a moment to thank him and she realized that he was looking around them. She straightened up, tensed for more battle, before noting that the ones standing near them were not bots, but furries, like them. She took her arms from about the tiger's neck and just put a hand on his arm for a tad of comfort.

One of the more adventurous of the group of assembled furs, a male gray squirrel, stepped forwards, smiling a trifle unsteadily, but it was a friendly smile nonetheless. Kicalia and Sam smiled back at them, trying to show that they were not a threat. More than a few paused at the sight of Sam's now-roboticised legs, but since he was in the company of a normal looking female, they gave the two the benefit of the doubt and came forward.

The gray squirrel that had made the first move, smiled broadly now that he was certain there was no threat and said, "Hello. My name is Axel.... I'm guessing you two just escaped from Botnik's place over there..." This last was accompanied by a nod back the way Kic and Sam had just come.

Kicalia smiled back, still loosely clasping Sam's arm and slightly hiding behind him. "Well, actually, he just saved me from the machines and his legs got turned..." she smiles up at Sam with this last part, apparently giving the wrong impression to the others before going on, "My name is Kicalia and this is... uhmm..."

"I am Samayou." He said. Oooh… she liked his voice.

Ki nodded and looked back at the squirrel, "Please... could you tell us where we are...?"

Axel nodded and supplied the information she requested, "You're a bit north of Robotnik's new facility... why? where were you from?"

Kic shook her head, remembering the circumstances that led to her arrival here, not wanting to talk about it. Axel seemed to take it easily when she turned away from him, "Well, why don'tcha stay here with us... I mean, it's not like you're gonna go back home, right?" 

Kic looked up at Sam, who had basically stayed silent this entire time. He looked down at her and nodded almost imperceptibly, to which she looked back at the others and nodded, "Only for a little while, though... we do not want to intrude.."

Axel grinned and insisted before she could even finish what she was saying, "Oh, no intrusion... we could get you a hut in the village, couldn't we, guys?"

The others all nodded and started off, as though it were inevitable that Sam and Ki would follow. Which, of course, they did.

As the furs worked on the hut that Kicalia and Samayou were going to coexist in, Sam watched Kicalia (He already thought of her as Kic) helping some of the males to lift a wall into place. He had started wearing a pair of pants to cover his legs. It didn't cover his tail, but Kic didn't seem to mind it. As preoccupied as she seemed most of the time, he had to admit that she DID hold a particular bit of interest for him. He watched her turn and push the sleeves of her shirt back up above her elbows and swipe the sweat and stray wisps of hair away from her eyes. She -was- pretty in a strange sort of way. He'd yet to figure out exactly what she was, but he wasn't about to just walk up and say "Hey baby, what's your species?"... it just sounded too corny. He had enough problems trying to say anything to her without feeling like a moron.

Kic turned after she and the others finished hefting the wall into place. She sighed and looked around contentedly... a home of her own.. she couldn't believe it! She nudged her sleeves up without even thinking about it and ran a hand over her hair, looking around for Samayou. Somehow she got the feeling that he didn't like her. He always acted so distant, especially when she tried to talk to him. She really couldn't understand why... whenever she glanced at him, he seemed to be watching her... like now. She personally found him very handsome.

As though he sensed her thoughts or caught her gaze, he turned abruptly and started back to work on the fence that Axel had him constructing to make the place look more "homey".

****

As soon as the hut was finished, the furs all backed off. Kicalia didn't mind it in the least and she didn't really think Sam minded either. She generally spent her evenings outside, planting the flowers that some of the ladies had given her. So far, she'd done about half the area that she'd set aside for them. It gave her time to think, most of which time her mind was firmly centered on Samayou. She didn't catch him watching her nearly as often as before... maybe he was just making sure that she was okay after she had been caught. She hoped not, but maybe it was the truth. After living with him a little while, she had come to rather fancy him and she kind of hoped that he fancied her too.

Where was he? He'd disappeared sometime after lunch, and she hadn't seen him since. A crashing sound from the woods nearby grabbed her attention. She ran to see what it was, and froze, as she saw Sam practicing his fighting style, hands and feet moving fluidly, and almost beautifully, as his attacks uprooted small trees, cutting the larger ones in half. All she could do is watch as he kept practicing as his legs moved faster and stronger with every kick. He practiced until he was out of breath, but kept pushing himself… punishing himself was more like it. He finally collapsed, with a whirring of servos, to his knees. It was then, that she noticed the tears running down his face…

"I couldn't save her… I couldn't stop them… Oh Tsukino… I let you die…" his voice was then lost to his sobs as he broke down, and fell face first into the dirt, sweat and tears staining his fur.

At first, all Kic could do was watch, but as she realized he was crying, she started to walk silently into the clearing, quickening her pace as he fell. She fell to her knees beside him, upset because he's upset. She reached out a tentative hand to stroke his back, begins to withdraw it, but goes on, crooning softly, "Sammy... don't do this... please.... it wasn't your fault...."

Samayou jumps slightly at her touch, but is helpless to stop his emotions after letting them go. He makes no indication that he's even heard her, just stays where he is as she strokes his back gently. Kic is completely unaware that there are slow tears trickling down her face in response to his pain. She continues crooning softly to him as he cries. Finally he looks up at her through his tears, explaining what was going on on his island while he was out picking flowers for his fiancée. He tells her about everything and she listens, though a lot of it sounds like exactly what happened in her village... except the part about him standing there and watching his beloved die...at those words, something inside her just curled up and faded. She nods at the appropriate places and continues to run a comforting hand over his back as he talks. He finally finishes and she sighs softly, taking a handkerchief out of her back pocket and offers it to him. The gesture slightly surprises him but he gratefully accepts the plain white square of material as Kicalia begins to speak.

"It's okay... They attacked my village while I was right there.... there was no one that I really cared about at all, but I could have helped; I ran instead... My movement caught the SWATs attention and they caught me... I was panicking, so it wasn't hard to do."

Kicalia recounted most of her life as briefly as she could, telling him about her parents leaving her alone at the age of two and of her trips throughout various foster homes and juvenile delinquent centers; of how she was mercilessly teased by everyone who were usually just given up for adoption or orphaned, the fact that her parents KNEW her and STILL didn't want her. Then she told about her village and how Robotnik's forces came in and killed most everyone but her. They decided, she told him ruefully, that her show of speed when she was running away would guarantee that she'd make a good addition to the "family". She did not tell him, however, about the nights afterwards that she had awakened in a cold sweat as he slept on blissfully. She'd thought that more recently she had cried out as she awoke from the nightmares but she'd have awakened him... he was only in the next room and the walls were paper-thin... literally.

She did not tell him of her guilt that she never even tried to fight the bots. She didn't try to tell him of her hopelessness... he'd lost someone he was in love with and her sensitivity to that (because in a very real sense she had just lost someone she caredgreat deal for when he told her about Tsukino)prevented her from disclosing quite a lot. But maybe she'd told him enough to calm him down. She finally looked up, after swiping absently at her cheeks to remove the tears, to find him staring at her.

"What?" she asked, thinking that she'd said something wrong…

Then he wrapped his arms around her in a big hug that squeezed most of the air out of her lungs. At first she stiffened because she hadn't thought that he liked her at all, but then she smiled and hugged him back as tightly as she could.

After a few moments, he let her go slowly, blushing slightly and looking away, "I'm sorry… It was too forward of me to do that. You're all dirty now."

Kic grinned and brushed his apology off, "I've been working on planting weeds all day… it's not as if I were immaculate before anyway. You're gonna be okay?"

Samayou nodded and stood, offering her his hand, which she took gladly and together they walked back to the hut as though they were two young children, afraid of the night.

Over the next few weeks, life settled to a pleasant, almost familial schedule for the two. They spent the days getting to know one another and the afternoons till nightfall on their own little errands. Samayou with his training and Kic with her garden and other household chores. As the days wore on, the children of the village got over their fear of Sam's robotic legs (which Kic never understood in the first place) and came around to at first watch him, then to participate. After that, most of her afternoons were spent watching him roughhouse with the kids. Of course there WERE a few rough spots… when wouldn't there be? Kicalia still had nightmares, but she thought she'd hidden them pretty well from Samayou, who had awakened a few nights to hear her thrashing in her bed and murmuring and whimpering softly in her sleep. He was worried for her… it'd been so long since they'd first come to this area, but maybe they were just normal dreams. He wasn't sure enough to wake her… his legs may give her a fright.

There was one time when Sam was roughing it up with the young boys of the village and Kicalia had brought out lemonade for everyone that one of the smaller children had grabbed the metallic part of Sam's tail. It had come off somehow and Kic had hastened to go over to the child, check him over, set him on his feet and carry Sam's tail back to him. He'd been surprised that she hadn't shrunk away from touching it like everyone else seemed to, but he didn't show it. She'd gone back to the hut shortly after, humming a soft song to herself.

****

Late one night, almost four months after they had begun their existence in the village, and they had both retired for the night, Kicalia had another nightmare. This time she was running away from the SWATs like before in her village, but this time she couldn't run fast enough. This time they didn't decide to just make her into a bot. This time they fired those burning beams of light at her, intentionally not killing her, but putting her in so much pain she thought she'd die from the pain and fear alone. She began to scream.

Sam awakened to the sounds of Kicalia tossing and turning in the next room. He had just decided that nothing was wrong when she had started to scream, literal screams of fear and panic… and pain. He was up in a flash, running to her room in nothing but a loincloth, not bothering to even think of his shirt or pants. She was sitting bolt-upright in her bed, head thrown back, hair tumbling down her back, and screams being torn from the depths of her being… screams that chilled him to the bone. He called her name from the doorway, but she didn't hear… she was still asleep. She continued screaming until he went over to her and shook her roughly to wake her. Her scream caught in her throat and stopped abruptly as she opened terrified eyes and looked into his. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and overflowed. He gathered her close to him and sat beside her in the bed as she cried, heart-rending sobs that revealed all the fear and pain that were left over from their experience...even after all this time. He sat with her and held her trembling form tightly until she quieted and looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. She sniffled and whispered something that he couldn't quite hear.

"What's that?"

"I…I'm sorry, Sammy…I didn't mean to wake you…I didn't, did I?"

Sam neatly sidestepped her question and said, still holding her tightly, "If It's bad enough for you to be screaming, It's worth it... Now... what was the dream about?"

Kicalia briefly closed her eyes, recalling the images of her dream and beginning to quake again.

"I... We... were back in my village... but it wasn't right... everyonehere was there... I saw those things come back and I got scared again and ran... but... but I couldn't run...I.. I was going so SLOW... and they started shooting at me with those lights... not trying to kill me... they kept hitting me and it hurt... so badly...and.. then they grabbed me and you woke me up...and... Sammy... I..."

Upon those last words, her voice broke and she began to cry

helplessly, burying her face against the fur covered muscles of his chest as he held her again, thinking. He held her and comforted her until he was certain she was asleep before he gently laid her back down on the bed and covered her with the blanket, then attempted to tiptoe out of the room, his metallic legs making much more noise than he would have liked. She stirred and whimpered,

"Sammy?"

"Yes?"

"Could you maybe... stay in here tonight? I...I'm scared..."

He looked back and saw her reaching a hand out to him, looking for all the world like a small child and the gentle refusal that was on his lips turned to a silent nod as he pulled a chair next to her bed and took her hand in his own. He barely caught her whisper before she buried her face in the pillow,

"Thank you ever so much, Sam..."

As he watched her body relax under the blankets, he thought she reminded him of Tsukino's younger sister in a way. He'd adored that little girl and her older sister both. Amazingly enough, though Kic was older than both the girls when he met her, he saw some of both of them in her eyes. That night he vowed not to let her get hurt as he'd done Tsukino and everyone else he'd cared about thus far.

The next day Kic was gone longer than usual on her expedition to buy groceries that she couldn't quite grow on her own. It worried Sam. After she was a half hour late, he decided to go out to the main part of the village and see if he could find her. It didn't take long.

He came around a bend and saw her walking up the road with a male weasel, chatting idly. He really didn't like the look that boy was giving her. She smiled at the weasel and laughed at a remark he'd made, not even noticing Sam or the look he was giving them, but the weasel certainly did... or if he didn't, then he must have suddenly remembered something at the village that needed his immediate attention... that was the only other thing that could account for such a swift departure.

Finally Kic noticed him, "Hi Sam! Look what Joshua helped me get for dinner..." She turned her basket so he could see some fresh eggs, cheese and meat that they hadn't been able to procure before.

"And how, pray tell, did you manage that?"

"I... Uh, told him that I'd see if it was okay for him to come to dinner sometime..." Kic didn't understand this... she thought he'd be happy about this, instead of looking disapproving...

"He just may be wanting more than just... dinner."

Kicalia was completely confused now, "What's that supposed to mean? He's being nice and I'm trying to make friends... what's wrong with that?"

"There's nothing wrong with you trying to make friends... I do believe that he" with a nod in the weasel's direction, "may be misreading your intentions as slightly romantic..."

Kicalia averts her gaze and blushes softly, shaking her head and tucking a stray wisp of hair behind her ear. "Nope... no way...."

Sam takes Kic's arm gently and turns her to face him, looking full into her face, "Kicalia... I trust you... It's them I don't trust... just please... be careful... for your own sake."

Kic looks back the way that Joshua went and back to Sam with a perplexed frown marring her brow, "They wouldn't hurt me Sammy... I don't think..."

"I'm not telling you what to do... just be careful..."

There is a moment of uncomfortable silence and Kic glances into Sam's eyes, which are totally unreadable to her. They look almost cold... SHe turns and heads on her way, with Sam following, wondering about the things he said as being the right things to have said.

****

Later that same day, when Kicalia was preparing a "special" dinner for Sam, who was out chopping wood, she happened to glance out the window to engage in her most recent hobby... Sam-watching. She leaned against the counter and watched as the muscles of his back moved with each forceful blow of the axe he was wielding. She noticed a red vixen approaching, and casting more than a few admiring glances Sam's way. She stopped and leaned against the fence, "Heya Sam... How's it hangin'...?"

Sam paused and looked up, one eyebrow raised, "Uh.. hi, Kristi, how are you today?"

Kristi just tossed her bright red mane of hair over her shoulder, smiling brilliantly at Sam in a way that made Kicalia want to retch. "Don't let me interrupt..." she said softly in an almost calculated sensual purr.

Sam shrugged and didn't. He went back to chopping wood as Both Kic and Kristi watched. Kristi, however was first to say anything, "So, Sambo, just exactly how far up does that metal go, eh?"

Kicalia, who had the kitchen window open, could hear every word and this last exchange caused her to break the wooden spoon she was using to stir the batter for the cake she was working on. Sam shrugged and pointed to a spot high up on his thigh, confused as to why Kristi would want to know.

Kristi grins and leans a bit more on the fence, so that her breasts were resting on her arms and she grinned at Sam with a wealth of meaning in her eyes, "So everything above that mark is pretty well intact?"

Sam nods his head and continues with his wood chopping, whilst Kic stood in the kitchen gaping at the audacity of that brazen hussy. She forcefully threw the spoon in the trash bin and got out another one, her temper beginning to get a good head on it.Kic watched, Kristi undid the catch on the fence and sauntered on in as Sam finished the wood chopping. He hefted a load of firewood and was surprised to find the vixen standing right beside him, running a finger down the muscles of his arm and breathing sensually, "I think it's about time we got a big, strong male like you around here... we've needed one for a while."

Finally Kic could stand no more. She stormed out to the yard and tightly requested that Samayou go on and put the firewood where it belongs.

Sam blinked a little, a bit confused as to why Kic sounded so angry. But he was planning on putting the firewood away anyhoo, so he bent over to pick up the last few pieces of kindling that lay in the yard. Unbeknownst to him, Kristi was standing right behind him, giving his rear an openly appraising look-over. He walked over to put the wood on the woodpile, on the other side of the house. Kic walked right up to Kristi as Sam's back was turned and whispered tightly,

"I strongly suggest that you get the hell out of my yard... immediately."

Kristi just flicked a glance over Kic and says softly, "You know, Kicalia dear, Green simply isn't your color."

With that remark Kicalia turns a deep shade of red and growls menacingly at the vixen, "Get out of here and don't EVER come back!"

Kristi turns her back on Kic and says pleasantly, "Ta-ta dearie... I'll be back soon... and maybe you can have my hut in the village then..."

That remark hit Kicalia as a slap in the face and she angrily picked up a small stone and threw it with all her might at the vixen, just as Sam rounded the corner. Kristi yelped as she opened the catch on the fence and turned to glare at Kic, beating a hasty retreat, calling over her shoulder, "Remember... I'll be Back honey..."

Sam walked over to Kic, who was now trembling with rage and asked, "Why'd you do that? What did she do to you?" Which earned him a glare from Kic as she snarled, "Because I could! That's why!" as she stomped back to the house, leaving poor Sam even more confused than when they'd started.

Back in the hut, Kicalia finished the dinner preparations and served Sam, retiring to her room as soon as he is served, all with an angry silence that you could cut with a knife.

Sam put some food onto a plate for her and walked down the hall, rapping softly on Kic's door, "Kicalia? May I come in?"

His request was greeted with a stony silence. He opened the door, ready to duck any flying objects that could do harm... he'd seen the welt on Kristi's backside as she retreated. Kicalia sat on her bed cross-legged, staring silently out the window.

"Would you like some dinner, Kicalia?"

Kicalia apparently did not hear him because she didn't answer, which was totally unlike her.

"Kicalia...?" He took a few steps into her room, closing the door behind him. He set the plate down on a small nightstand and crossed to stand near her. He knelt down so that his eyes are level with hers, "Kicalia... Did I do something wrong?"

Kic looks at him briefly, not saying anything, but mixed in with the anger that is stiffening her posture is a hurt that he can see reflected in her eyes.

Samayou, by this time, has the idea that she does not wish to speak to him and stands, saying softly, "I will leave you alone now, but I want you to know that the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you."

Kic sniffles and puts her hands to her face, his words breaking down the barriers that have fed her anger all evening. She begins to cry softly.

Sam quickly sits on the bed beside her and moves to put a comforting arm aroumd her, which she tries to shrug off half-heartedly,

"Just go on... I'm sure Kristi's looking for you..."

Sam looks more confused than ever and asks, "What does Kristi have to do with any of this?"

Kic sobs harder, turning her face towards Sam as she briefly recounts her discussion with the vix.

Realization dawns in Sam's eyes and he says softly, "Oh..." Then louder with a little surprise, "Oh!" Now feeling quite the dunce.

He runs a hand softly over Kic's hair and he gently caresses the side of her face whispering softly to her, "Kic, no one could EVER take your place... Ever."

Kicalia has curled up next to Sam and she hugs him tightly, murmuring, "Only until someone else who's better than me comes along...just like everyone else..."

Sam simply hugs her tightly to him, almost pulling her into his lap. He places two fingers over her lips and says softly, "Kic... No... shhh... please?" Effectively silencing her as she looks away. He left the room soon after.

**********

Time passed rather quickly in the small, secluded village. The entire aim and goal of the furs there seemed to be to regain the life they had before Robotnik. It was a peaceful life, for the most part. In the year that had passed since Samayou and Kicalia had arrived, the people had come to see them as part of the community. Samayou had even set up a small training school for the young of the village. Kicalia had even unknowingly gained the eye of quite a few of the males of the village. The two had settled into a routine that almost felt like married life. But Samayou found something, while hunting for food one day. Something so terrible, it prompted Samayou to call for a meeting for the entire village. 

Samayou stood in the middle of the large building that served as the meeting hall for everyone. He looked around, waiting for the murmurs to die down. "Ladies and gentlemen… for the last year, I have been living in this village. I have seen people going about their daily routines as if nothing had ever changed. I've been to the market, I've taught, and played with your children. You have worked hard to get back the life that Robotnik stole from you. But it may all be for naught… Yes…"his eyes flashed as he seemed to look everyone in the eye at the same time, "All for naught! Robotnik's forces are drawing near again, and this time, you may not escape." The murmurs returned, some fearful, some doubtful. Then one voice came above the crowd. Axel, the village leader, or at least that's what most considered him.

"What are you talking about, Samayou? We've had no evidence of those machines finding our village. We've camouflaged ourselves from the skies, and put ourselves in the deepest part of the forest. What makes you think they've found us?" he said, the derision heavy in his voice. Samayou restrained his impulses to cause great injuries to the squirrel. 

Instead, he just supplied his evidence. He reached into the pack he had slung at his waist and threw its contents at the squirrel's feet. It was the wrecked remains of a Spy-Eye, nearly halved by the blade that Samayou always wore. "This. I found this thing, flying not half a mile from our borders a week ago. They are getting closer." This time there were gasps accompanying the murmurs. "I propose… That we take the initiative… and strike FIRST!" This time, the murmurs turned into a dull roar of two natures. One side was approving, enthusiastic, ready to fight. The other side was negative, opposed, and unwilling to take any risks like that. Then a shout came from the middle of all of them, that effectively silenced them all.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Shut yer bloomin' cake 'oles, ye stupid gits! Oi fer one am bleedin' tired of sittin' back here, waitin' for ol' egg-fer-brains t' foind us, en turn us int' more of 'is bleedin' machines!" All eyes turned to the new speaker. It was Colin, a Koala from the Downunda region. He was fairly new to the area, but needed a place to hide from Robotnik's gaze. He was short, as most koala were, but his style of dress set him apart. He was dressed, head to toe, in black biker-type leather, with silver studs, and armed with a pair of rock-launchers, a deadly weapon of his own design, and a sword on his back. He was an angry fur, with quite a bit to say, especially at the moment. "This lad 'ere 'as got th' oidea thet we can't jest stay around 'ere an' expect th' bloomin' things t' ferget about us. 'E's out t' have this 'ole bloomin' world as machines, an' 'e ain't gonna stop until he succeeds, or 'e's dead. Now, Oi don't know about you, but Oi prefer the latter, over the former. Oi'm with y' lad. Wot's yer plan?" 

A few cheers sounded. Samayou looked around, until he spotted who he was looking for. The village Tinkerer, Juli. "Juli… You're good with machines, and working with devices… are you any good with explosives?" He knew she was… One of the times his legs had to be repaired, he had overheard her speaking of different types of bombs.

"Bombs?! OH, YEAH! You want bombs, I can give ya bombs! YES! I can DO this! I've been WAITING for somebody to ask me to do something like this! You give me a week, and I'll give you enough bombs to reduce that place to a smoking hole in the ground!" The young ferret practically bounced as she spoke.

"Good. My plan is to take a small party into the complex, and raze it, from the inside out. I want only the bravest, fastest, smartest, and strongest to accompany me. This WILL be a dangerous mission. I would not try to tell you otherwise. So if you doubt yourself at all, Do not come. But if you think you have what it takes to help save this village, come to my house, at noon tomorrow. I will choose who goes, and who stays."

A female siamese feline, clad in a bright red jersey and backwards baseball cap jumped up, "I am SO all over that! I'm there! It's about time we gave those freaks some what-for! Ya need a scout? I'm on it!" She continued in this vein for a few minutes, enthusiastically endorsing "Shorty's" (Colin) and "Sweetcheeks's" (Samayou) various opinions, although her speech was almost incomprehensible due to her usage of slang and city terminology, earning her not a few blank stares and just enough applause from people who didn't want to admit that she was making no sense whatsoever.

After the meeting dispersed, Sam headed home, eyes bright, head up, his entire posture proud. He entered the hut, grinning broadly. He found Kic in the kitchen and snuck up behind her, grabbing her about the waist and swinging her in a laughing circle. SHe shrieked in surprise at first, but his grin was too infectious not to be returned and she found herself laughing along with him. After he set her back on her feet, she grinned at him and tilted her head, asking, "What on Mobius was that about?"

Sam thought to himself that Kic had never looked more beautiful than she did at that moment, her serious dark blue eyes alight with laughter and her lips stretched into the biggest smile he'd ever seen from her. He resolutely pushed that thought away and told her about the meeting that she had refrained from attending, right down to the part about him heading the mission into the complex. Her eyes lost their light and the smile dropped from her lips, much like the bowl of batter she was working with slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor. 

"What?" She asked faintly, her face growing pale, "What are you talking about? You're not going into that place, Sammy... Please tell me you're not going into that place..."

Sam was rather bewildered at her reaction and realized that it looked as if she would faint at any moment. She swayed on her feet and he picked her up, carrying her over to the couch and lying her down.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. I'm going... I'm heading up the mission."

He was further astonished at the bright flash of anger in the depths of her eyes as she sat up quickly,

"It was Axel's idea, wasn't it?! I'll go right over there and talk some sense into that idiot... better yet, I'll go over there and kick his fucking squirrelly ass!"

She didn't quite seem to know what she was saying and Sam wasn't even aware she KNEW any of those words until that point. He stood quickly and took her wrist into his hand,

"Kicalia... no... It was my idea. Not Axel's."

She stopped and looked into his eyes, her expression looking as though he'd just raised a hand to her,

"No.. you'd never think of something like that... you'd never VOLUNTEER for that!! It was Axel.. it had to have been... He's never liked you..." She seemed to be attempting to make him believe her wild ideas, to convince him that what she was saying was true.

"Kicalia... sit with me. I am organizing this... It's been on my mind for quite a period of time... it was all my idea. I swear." He looked back up at her and was shocked to see tears standing out in her eyes, "What are those for?"

Kic shook her head and fled to her room, jerking her wrist from Sam's grasp and ignoring the mess that was still in the floor from where she dropped the bowl of cookie dough. Sam reluctantly refrained from following her back to her room and stayed in the main room, cleaning up the mess and straightening the area, Kicalia's reaction taking the pride and happiness from his demeanor. He now looked like a man facing a life sentence.

As he went to his room later that evening, he realised that Kic had never come back out of her room. He thought he heard faint strains of classical music coming from her room... along with the sounds of weeping? He knew it wasn't a good idea, but he also knew that he had to check on her. He knocked softly and opened the door a crack... the strains of music were a reality, as were the sounds of weeping. He peered in and saw her where she'd thrown herself across the bed hours ago. Her head was cradled in her folded arms, her forehead on crossed forearms. Her braid had come partly undone and long strands had stretched across her coverlet, which had a rather large wet area on it from her tears. 

Without even realizing he was even considering going to her, he was across the room, turning off her small cassette player and sitting beside her, 

"Kicalia... please don't do this..."

He reached out a hand to stroke her head, but when it made contact, she flinched and shrank away. He tried again and met with the same results. Finally, he took her shoulders and gathered her into his arms, holding her when she would have resisted. She capitulated and turned her head against his shoulder, grasping at his shirt and hugging him closely with her free arm.

"Kicalia... please... calm down... why are you crying like this... it's not the end of the world..."

She looked up at him with red, tear-filled eyes that portrayed a world of hurt and he felt eternally miserable that he knew he caused it.

"Isn't it? I wonder... you're going in there to die... that's what'll happen... I know that if you go, I'll never see you again. It WILL be the end of my world. I don't want you to go... send someone else."

"Kicalia... you know I can't.. I must go myself."

"then don't send anyone!! We're fine here... we have been for almost a year! And they've been here for longer!!"

"But I've seen those spys that the demon has out about half a mile from here. we haven't time to wait."

"Yes we do! it's half a mile!! we can just go back to the way it was before he started killing everyone... it'll be fine... WE'll be fine..."

SAm shook his head and gently hugged her to him, "No... we have to stop deluding ourselves... they're almost at our gates. I'll come back. I told you I wouldn't leave you and I won't now."

Kicalia stopped trying to convince him and she hugged him fiercely to her, her heart telling her that if he left, he'd never come back to her. The words to tell him how she felt towards him trembled upon her lips, but in the end were held back. She just hugged him close as he held her. Finally he broke the embrace gently and set her off his lap. He stood and smiled at her thinking how nice it was to have someone that actually cared about him again. On a whim, he knelt quickly and pressed his lips to her cheek, just beside her eye. He straightened again, pressed the button on the cassette player and walked silently out of the room. She raised a shocked hand to the place where his lips had touched and watched him go, whispering as he shut the door, "I love you." 

The next day, Samayou was out in his yard at dawn, looking over the crowd that had assembled there. Quite a few had come to volunteer for the mission. Yen, the confusing Siamese femme, had already been chosen as spy and scout, and would be returning soon with the information they need to make the mission a Success. He started by saying, "This, as I said last night, will be a dangerous mission. I will be choosing the most qualified from among you." Sam pointed at the small obstacle course he had constructed for his young students, "All of you… run that. This will be the first test. I need only those who are at least as agile as your children." 

Sam watched as easily 20 were eliminated in the first five minutes. Included in there number was the Koala that had been so much on his side. He left, simply with, "Eh, from wot ye said last noight, Sammy, this ain't th' place fer someone loike me. Yer roight. Ya needs fast people, who can get in there, set the bombs an' be out quick. Oi'll be th' first t' agree with that… Oi just had to show that Oi was behoind ye in more then words alone." The small Koala patted Sam's leg(because he couldn't reach anything else) as he went back to his small house. Sam had a lot of respect for that Koala.

Sam then went to each one in turn. He looked over them, and asked them a few questions. He came to a raccoon that had been the best one out of all those who volunteered. "Steven… Your wife just had another baby, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. Our third."

"And why did you come out here today?"

"I wanted to make sure she has a future to grow up to."

"You're the most qualified here. You would almost guarantee that your portion of the mission would succeed. But… There are others who could do the same… Steven… Go home… Make sure your child has a father to grow up to." He almost regretted to see him go. But with that many children, he couldn't risk him not coming back. Besides, he and Kic both loved Steve and Lex's children. He hated to think about being the one that put their father in danger.

By the end of the afternoon, Samayou had picked the two most qualified for the mission. It had been decided that 3 would be enough. And, with the information that was provided by Yen, it fit their needs perfectly Once they got her to spell things out where they could understand them, They discovered that there was still no wall around the complex. Their main purpose was ore mining. Their surface installation was just for transforming furs into robots, and central control. Yen had actually snuck through the ductwork, and found out where the power sources were for the whole installation. There were two generators on each side, close to the outer wall. If something were to happen only to one, the other would take over within a few seconds time. So to succeed, they needed to take both out, at the same time, before security was alerted to their presence.

Which suited Juli just fine, "OKAY! Then I'll just make 'em strong enough to punch through the walls, with enough force to STILL take out the generators! OOH! This'll be FUN! I only wish I could watch it go up…"

Sam didn't see much of Kic between the night he told her of his plans and the day he actually had to leave. She had hardly said three words to him whenever they DID meet up. On the day of his departure, he finally had to hunt her down in the forest behind their hut. She had climbed into a tree and was staring moodily towards the horizon, glaring with a cold hatred in the direction of the complex and growling softly deep in her throat.

He saw her but was very aware that she probably did not want him to see that... she hadn't gotten angry often, but that anger was usually very quickly hidden. No temper tantrums from this girl. He watched her sadly for a few moments and walked away. She came back to the hut about half an hour later and went directly her room.

Later that day, Sam went into her room to try to talk to her for a bit before he left. When he opened the door to her room, he was shocked to find her belongings scattered all over the floor and her bed, her akubra hat and her packsack upon the bed. She was trying to decide what of her weapons would be the best one to take with her. While he was gaping, she decided on her quarterstaff.

"Kicalia.. What are you doing?"

She froze in the middle of the act of taking her light coat of it's peg and turned slowly, "What's it look as if I'm doing? I'm coming with you...."

"Why are you doing this?" He seemed genuinely perplexed as to why she'd want to follow him.

"You won't stay here, so I'm going too." she talked patiently to him as if he were a slightly dull child. 

"I can't let you go... it's too dangerous."

"Then you have to stay here with me. I'm not letting you go alone."

"I won't be alone,.. I've found the best in the village to go with me."

Kic crossed her arms stubbornly, then slung her pack on her shoulders and jammed her hat onto her head, picking up her staff and walking past Sam, "Either you stay or I go."

Sam took her arm and stopped her, "How can I expect to send men into something I'm not willing to do myself?"Kic shrugged and looked him full in the face, her eyes unexpectedly cold, "Then I'm going."

Sam was completely flabbergasted... He'd expected tears and remonstrations and her begging him not to leave her... he would never in a million years have expected this. He stumbled for words,

"But you could be killed..."

"So could you."

"I'm willing to take that risk to protect you."

"I'm not gonna sit here on my butt while you go off and get killed. I'm just as good as Yen or any of the guys you have going with you. I'm coming along."

Sam takes her other arm and turns her to face him, looking into her eyes, "I can't stand the thought of you in any danger whatsoever and as long as that building stands, you're in danger."

Kic persisted stubbornly, seemingly TRYING to goad him. "I don't care... If you won't stay with me, then I'm going with you."

"I couldn't put you in that kind of danger."

"Then you won't have to... I'm doing it myself."

"How could I concentrate on the mission if you're there in danger?"

"You'll have to because I'm not going to just sit here while you go off and get killed. I refuse... do you hear me? I REFUSE!" She dropped her staff and stomped her foot hard on the floor, adding emphasis to her statement. She pulls away from him and starts across the room towards the main door.

"Ki-chan! Wait!" He started after her, but didnt' have far to go when she stopped and turned halfway back to him,eyebrow raised (a signal of danger in Kic's normal body language)

"What did you call me?"

"It wasn't an insult.. it was a term of affection."

Kic snorted derisively, "Maybe affliction..."

He walked over to her, "No... Not affliction. The reason I'm going on this mission is because I don't want to see you hurt. I care too much for you to see you hurt." He lent closure to this by leaning close to her and kissing her on the lips. He'd only meant for it to be a soft peck, but it turned out to be a little longer. He thought he'd felt her relax against him, softening a bit but that was gone and all of a sudden she was pushing him away, eyes blazing with anger.

"So that's how you intend on ending this, huh? I've heard about guys doing this... playing with girls' emotions by holding them and kissing them to get their own way. You just want me to sit here and wonder if you're okay.... wonder if you'll ever come back and if you do, will you care about me anymore or will you be badly hurt? Well, fine!" She took her pack off her back and threw it against the wall, snatching off her hat and throwing to the ground, tears standing out in her eyes, her voice suddenly quieting to a hoarse whisper, "You win... Are you happy now?"

Sam was shocked by this outburst that was so totally unlike her. He tried to stammer a response to her accusations, 

"Th.. that wasn't... I tried to... but..." He was immensely disconcerted to see her shoulders slump and her posture become defeated.

"You win, Samayou.. just go... I'll stay." With that she turned and trudged down the hall towards her room.

After she'd already gotten out of earshot, he finally got the words out that he'd been trying to say, only in a whisper, "I.. I was kissing you... because... I love you..."

As soon as Kic got her door closed, she leaned against it and began to cry. She knew she'd go watch the party leave. It would be the last time she'd see Sam before he left, whether he'd come back was in God's hands. She sniffled and set about straightening up her room.

While Kic began to cry softly, Sam left the hut, casting a longing glance to the window of Kic's room. He went to the designated meeting spot for the chosen group, stopping to talk to the only close friend he was aware of Kicalia making during their time in the village. He knocked on her door. When the raccoon answered the knock, she took one look at him and ushered him into the home she shared with her husband and three children. "Samayou... what's wrong? Shouldn't you be down there with the others?"

Sam just slumped his shoulders and sighed sadly, "Yes... but not before I make certain that Kicalia has someone should I not come back. She needs you to go over there now... we've just had an argument and I'm worried for her."

Lexus nodded and knew how Kic felt about him... she'd heard about it often enough. She had an idea that Kic had tried one last time to persuade him to stay, "She didn't want you to go?"

"No.. I didn't want HER to go... She said she was going to come along."

That statement floored Lex almost as much as it had Samayou, but she nodded and patted Sam's hand, "I'll go to her... I'll take the babies with me. It should cheer her up, but I'll warn you now that she cares about you a lot. You had better come back to her."

"One way or another, I WILL be back... please tell her that..."

With that, he stood and walked away from her home, almost literally dragging his feet.

When the time came for them to leave, Sam was shocked to find that most of the village had turned out and there was hardly a dry eye in the group. He scanned their faces closely to see if Kic had come too and was almost surprised when he met her eyes. Lex was next to her, as were the children. Kic was holding the smallest one in her arms and smiling softly. It took his breath away when he realised that he'd almost seen her holding HIS child, though he had none. She seemed to know he was staring at her and she handed Lex her baby back, walking towards him from the crowd, which seemed to magically part for her. She got to a place almost immediately in front of him and wrapped her arms about his neck, hugging him tightly and whispering to him, "Don't be angry with me Sammy... please, don't be angry... Be careful and come back."

Without giving him a chance to respond, she took her locket from about her neck and looped it around his, giving him a kiss on the cheek and she turned and walked away.

The group arrived at the complex at dusk, before the robots went completely into night mode. Sam's companions broke off, as they had been told to do. They had a bit of an edge on their side, too. In addition to the main, building destroying bombs that Juli had made, she took the liberty of constructing some grenades. Samayou wasn't thinking about that, though. He was moving as fast as those robotic legs could carry him. It almost seemed like he flew across the landscape, down to the grate that had led him to meeting Kicalia. Sam was slinking through the ventways when he heard, and felt, the explosions on wither side of the building, and heard systems powering down. Emergency power came on a few seconds later. Everything was going according to plan. He arrived in the room with the roboticization chamber. Sam placed his first bomb there, second, on the other side of the room. Third and final one was put on the door. Individually, these bombs were devastating. But Juli had told them that if three went off, this close together, it would only magnify the explosion. as Sam finished, he heard the metal footsteps behind him. There just happened to have been one SWAT in the room, that had just gotten priority orders to stop the intruders. Sam jumped to the side as the bolt of energy lanced out at him. He barely had time to knock out its video lens, going for the grate… but luck wasn't on his side… the bot sent out one last shot. This one, went straight through Samayou's knee, and took his left leg off from that point down. He picked up his severed foot, and was glad of the new weapon he'd devised… a tail-blade. 

Since he didn't have the use of his feet, he had to hop along the corridor, as fast as he could, using his spiked tail to maneuver himself along, by stabbing it into the walls of the vent. He had just gotten out of the vent, hopping out away from the building when it exploded. The whole building just seemed to go up in one big fireball. Unfortunately, there was a problem. Sam was still too close, and was hit by the shockwave. The force of it knocked the remnants of his leg from his hands, and propelled it into the woods nearby. He lost consciousness, whispering… "Ki…calia… don't… give up on me…"

Meanwhile, his compatriots were looking for Sam at the rendezvous point, and elsewhere. And that, was where they found the leg. They sank to their knees, staring in shock at what they believed to be all that was left of the great warrior Samayou.

****Back at the village****

After he had left, Kicalia started to spend more and more of her time at lex's place, pretending to help with the kids. The truth was that she couldn't stand to be in her hut any longer... not without Sam there. She'd taken to sleeping in his room, in his bed. When she wasn't at Lex's, she'd also taken to going out back with her stave or some of his weapons and practicing until she could barely move a muscle. She worked herself to exhaustion and pushed farther. She had to face it, she was lonely. 

Soon enough, the other members of the group that had left came back... but Sam was not with them. She rushed out to them when she heard the news, but was heartbroken when one of them took pity on her and told her that Sam had been inside the building when it went up. They even showed her his foot, which was absolutely terrible. She ran back to the hut at full speed, falling quite a few times because of the tears that blurred her vision.The entire village populous tried to comfort her by telling her that he knew what he was getting into and that at least he knew how she felt before he left... but he didn't... and she had planned to suck it up and tell him when he got back. Of course Lex heard all about it. Kic waited for him almost two weeks before the ache inside and all the memories became too much for her to bear and she simply gathered up her personal belongings and the weapons she'd trained with and left. She left a note pinned to the door for anyone who cared, but it was never found, as far as she knew. To the eyes of the village people, she'd simply vanished, never to be seen again.

Samayou awakened in the wreckage a few hours later. he was bruised, burned, and in without use of both legs. The pain was almost like when his legs had been changed. He thought he was as good as dead, without any hope of making it back, when his face met the ground, resigned to his death. But he felt something. Something small, and metal, suspended by a chain, pressed against his face. It was Kicalias locket. It was then, that he remembered his promise to her… 

"Kicalia… wait for me… I will return to you…" he grunted hoarsely as he started dragging his heavy body out of the area by his arms, his pain, forgotten, his wounds, ignored, as he pulled himself onward. He traveled for what seemed like days, but was only a few hours, until he found the creek that they had followed on their way to he complex. He collapsed in it, drinking in the water with everything he had, which wasn't much. Beside that creek, he passed out again.

***

Samayou awakened that night, feeling slightly better, after his rest. He dragged, and pushed himself along the ground beside the creek, again glad for his tail. The blade at the end gave him just a little more purchase, as he dragged himself along beside the creek. He didn't know how he kept going. He just kept picturing Kicalia, waiting for him… and he knew that he couldn't give up. That one thought, kept him going, as he traveled the path that normally was little more than a days travel, but took him over a week. He ate what fruits he could find, drank from the creek. He knew… he had to get back to the village, if only just to see Kicalia, before he died. He had to tell her how he felt. He couldn't die without her knowing.

Days passed slowly. But Samayou kept going, until finally, he crawled his way into the village, sweating, panting, bleeding, and a mild infection on some of his older wounds. None of that mattered. He just kept calling out, "Kicalia… *pant pant* Kicalia!" he kept yelling. No one answered, no one went to him. It was late at night… Most were probably asleep. He managed to drag himself to the very center of the marketplace area, and passed out from exhaustion. And that was how he was found, the next morning.

It was Steven, who found him, breathing shallow, and mumbling to his fever-borne hallucinations. Steven quickly gathered the strongest furs he could find, and hauled Samayou to the medical building. They bandaged his wounds the best way they knew how, and tended to his fever.

It must have been enough, because a couple of days later, Samayou's fever was gone, and he had finally rested, instead of just passing out. When he awoke, and had eaten, and drank something, he asked the question that would change his life more than the day he lost his legs. In a very weak voice, he asked, "Kicalia… can I see… Kicalia?"

The nurse, who was basically the only medical professional left alive in the village, who was working on Samayou, almost fainted dead away. They weren't expecting him to wake up fully for another week. "Woo, Sammy boy… yet another testament of your strength." The matronly wolf said to him. Juli, however, who was working on rebuilding his leg, hopped up, and hugged him fiercely, "SAMAYOU! You're OKAY! YIPPEE! I'm so happy! Gimme a hug!" unfortunately, she had chosen to hug his neck, cutting off his air for a short time. He pulled her off gently, coughing slightly. Strong as he was, he was feeling weak as a kitten. He smiled slightly, drawing in a deep breath.

"Thank you, Juli… How is progress on my leg?" 

"I almost got it finished, Sammy… All I hadta do is reconnect your other one, and use it as a guide… I'll be done with it in NO time." The ferret was still almost bouncing with happiness.

"Thank you… Can someone go and tell Kicalia I'm all right? I would really like to see her…" he asked softly, almost embarrassed to say the words out loud. They smiled, and both went… but it was Kristi who returned a short while later, holding a small piece of paper in her hands.

"I'm so glad to see you're alright, Samayou… I'd hate to think you'd been badly injured." Walking closer with a sultry sway to her hips. A sway that Samayou didn't like. "Tell me… Does it still hurt anywhere? I could kiss it and make It feel better…" leaning close over him, and running her hands over the muscles of his arms.

Samayou, since learning the gist of the conversation with Kicalia, had learned a strong distrust for Kristi. "Where is Kicalia?"

"She's gone, Sambo… Her note says she ran off with that biker Koala guy…" looking at the note Kicalia had left, and blatantly lying about its message. What she wasn't expecting, was Sam's quick reflexes, when he reached out and snatched the note from her hand, reading over it quickly.

_To whoever finds this note~_

_ _

_I'm sorry to have to let you all down, but I have to leave... this place is too full of memories and I can't stand to stay here, knowing that it was just that that got Sam killed. I wish you all good luck and hope you would wish the same for me. Lex, I want to thank you for being such a good friend to me and Sammy while we were here and this isn't your fault. None of it. I must go now, before it gets dark._

_Goodbye,_

_ _

_Kicalia_

Samayou's eyes turned to look at Kristi. His head slowly followed. Kristi hadn't been afraid of men before. She always thought she could flirt her way out of everything. Right now, however, his eyes burned with a deeper anger than he had ever shown anyone since arriving. "How DARE you! You would dare to tell me lies like that about Kicalia?! Get out of my sight! I love Kicalia! And now, she thinks I'm dead! I have to find her, and tell her how I feel. You, Kristi, had better not try anything as stupid as you just did." Kristi was cowering by the door. Even though Sam hadn't even sat up, let alone taken one step towards her, but she feared that if the tiger even saw her in the village, she would be dead. She ran out of the medical building, and back to her hut in fear.

Samayou's head slouched back against the bed. His heart was broken. Kicalia thought he was dead, and had to leave everyone here because of it. What did that mean she felt for him? He made up his mind. As soon as they gave him the word that he was all better, He would go. Hopefully, he could still follow her trail.

****

As Sam was making his way back to her, Kic passed him. She kept away from any semblance of a path, but still heard her name being called. She could have SWORN it was Sammy, but they had showed her his poor foot... She shook her head to clear the tears from her eyes. It didn't matter now... he was gone. She hiked her pack up and sniffled once, swiping savagely at her eyes, it just wasn't FAIR! She decided that she cared for him and then he's gone.. just like everyone else. She trudged on her way. She had gotten a rather large bouquet of flowers out of her garden to put in the woods near the complex as a memorial to her newfound love and that was to be her first stop.

She peered through the trees at the area where the complex was... and realised that she had the operative word correct.... where it WAS. She gasped softly as she saw HOW sam lost his life. The place was completely leveled. She went farther into the clearing than she'd ever planned on, but she went right up to the demolished building to plce the flowers, then she'd fallen to her knees, cursing Robotnik to Hades, never to return. She lay there trembling for a few minutes... she'd already cried all the tears that were hers to give. She finally decided to set up camp here for the night. It was a long walk, most of last night and all of today. Besides, the real reason for her wanting to stay here... the one she wouldn't acknowledge to HERSELF was that she wanted to be close to the last place that Sammy had been alive. She hurt that much.

****

Kicalia wandered for almost three years, off and on, until she finally came to a place that, while not friendly (exactly) was beautiful and she decided that it was probably as good a place as any to stay. She soon learned that it was near Robotnik's main headquarters and she threw herself wholeheartedly into the village's campaigns to get into the base and rescue furs. She kept herself distant from others, wanting to join in their fun but not daring to. She still missed Sammy and when she was not off joining some rescue mission or another, she practiced and trained hard with the weapons she had brought from the only place she had ever considered a home and became quite efficient with the staff and two knives she had brought. They seemed to be all that was left for her in this life. She only waited to be killed in one of those missions, not having the courage to do it herself. 

The long wanderings and struggle to even survive on her own helped Kic to toughen up more than she had ever before. She depended on no one, although many furs depended on her. It was the way she liked it. She became more and more muscular and her hair had grown to the small of her back. She wore it up in a tidy French plait, not wanting to bother with it. She adopted baggy men's clothing as her preferred style of dress, although it made her look even that much more attractive to many of the menfolk around. 

***During the same while***

Samayou had left the village, setting off to find Kicalia. He followed every possible lead, going from village, to village, following the trail of a girl of indeterminate species, matching Kicalia's description. Finally, after three long years of Searching, he found himself near Robotnik's main base of operations. His revenge against Robotnik had long since been forgotten, and his current quest filled his entire mind. Something... had prompted him to build a small hut in the area. He knew he couldn't exactly move around in this area, and sleep on the ground, so he decided to give himself some well-camouflaged shelter.

During his time traveling, he had perfected the use of all his weapons, and become a true fighting force to be reckoned with. Now, close to Robotropolis, that was put to the test. The SWATs in this area seemed to be a bit more on the ball than others. And they tended to travel in groups that shot first, and didn't bother asking questions. It was just such a group that spotted Sam one night. A group of Fifteen moved with almost frightening speed and determination after their mark, blasting too close for Samayou's comfort. He managed to take out five, before they forced him to run. He ran until the forest became too thick to run anymore.He turned, and quickly climbed a tree, waiting for the machines to close in. When they were close enough, Samayou Dropped in for the Kill.

One evening, while Kic was wandering around her new "home" she heard the commotions of a battle nearby. She rushed in to help and saw a male tiger, who had by now gotten rather dirty, battling at least 10 SWAT-bots, two of which were dispatched and lying on the ground. As she assessed the situation, she thought she recognised the fighting style, but dismissed it. She jumped into the fray, staff and knives ready.

Sam looked over as he heard a rather familiar battle cry. The femme that had joined the free-for-all had her back turned to him and it first crossed his mind that this might be Kicalia, but then he dismissed it as he saw the skill and efficiency with which she handled her weapons.. Kic was never much of a fighter. The closing in of the SWAT's, however, made all of this unimportant as he fought for his life. He took out four more as Kic got the other four. She felled the last one and stood spinning her quarterstaff idly with one hand. She turns to find the tiger gaping at her and raises an eyebrow, "What?"

"Ki-chan? Is that you?"

Kic almost dropped her stave but caught it with the other hand, twirling it with both hands and keeping her eyes resolutely upon it, "I don't know what you are talking about... no one calls me that" It is obvious on her face that she is remembering a time when someone DID call her that.

"Ki... it's me... Sammy..."

This surprised her into dropping her stave and she stared at him in shock for a few minutes before finding her voice. She narrowed her eyes, "You aren't Sam. I should tear you apart here and now for even claiming such a thing... Sam's been gone for at least three years... he's dead now... do you hear me..." She swallowed a lump that had risen in her throat "He is dead and I don't know who you are, but you had better not try to pretend to be someone as kind and caring and courageous as Sammy again, or I'll have your stripes on my wall..." During this speech she had picked up her stave and walked menacingly forward, putting one end of the stave to his throat and growling, "Understand?"

Sam felt his heart go out to her and he nodded, reaching up with both hands, one to protect his throat from her staff and the other to extract the locket from beneath his shirt. He held it up for her to see, "Kicalia... it's me... I'm back."

She gasped and her eyes widened as all color drained from her face and then she smiled and all but threw herself into Samayou's arms, beginning to cry again, "They told me you were dead... they... they showed me your FOOT!"

"I'm alive and well now, Ki-chan... I told you... I'd return to you. I never go back on my word." He held her tightly, overjoyed to have his beloved back in his arms. Tragedy had brought them together, and separated them. Now the tragedy was over. It was time for the happiness they had in their old home to return to them. He held Kicalia's head as he buried his face against her neck, eyes closed. The only tears for either of them would be happy tears... and that was the best they could hope for.

The End? Not really, for things have just begun anew for the two of them. 


End file.
